Better still--very useful indeed--would be an upward stroke toward the symbol you want. Apples downward stroke away from the symbol is bizarre. On the other hand, some users might prefer consistency. I suggest a three-way control in settings: Stroke for symbols: up/down/off.

On your virtual keyboard number keys and punctuation keys have alternate characters that can be accessed only typing the shift key. New iOS 11 default keyboard can access "shifted-keys" just pulling down, avoiding pressing the shift key, that results really faster in typing.
I hope have been clear in my explanation.
Best regards